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President Macron addressed the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF) in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced new measures to combat anti-Semitism, following a series of attacks.
He told Jewish leaders that France would recognize anti-Zionism – the denial of Israel's right to existence – as a form of anti-Semitism.
He also said that Parliament would vote on a new law to fight hate on the Internet.
On Tuesday, Mr. Macron visited a Jewish cemetery near Strasbourg where graves were desecrated with Nazi symbols.
On the same day, thousands of people took part in rallies across France to support the Jewish community.
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Speaking Wednesday at an annual meeting of Jewish organizations, Macron said that anti-Semitism in France and other Western countries had reached its worst levels since World War II.
Among a series of new measures, he said the government would act to dissolve three far-right groups – Bastion Social, Blood and Honor Hexagon and Combat 18 – which he said fueled hatred and promoted discrimination.
Mr. Macron added: "Anti-Zionism is one of the modern forms of anti-Semitism, which is why I confirm that France is going to put forward the definition of" anti-Zionism. " antisemitism as it is defined by the International Alliance of Holocaust Remembrance ".
France has witnessed in recent months a series of high-level antisemitic attacks.
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Last week, vandals altered the portraits of the Holocaust survivor and French minister Simone Veil, scribbled the German word "Jews" in a Paris bakery and shot down a tree planted in memory of a young Jew tortured to death by an anti-Semite. gang.
A renowned French philosopher, Alain Finkielkraut, was also verbally abused to be Jewish while he was pbading in front of a recent demonstration "yellow vests" (yellow vest) in Paris.
During his visit to the Jewish cemetery of eastern France, where nearly 100 graves were desecrated, President Macron said: "Whoever would have done this would not be worthy of the French Republic and would be punished."
The number of antisemitic crimes reported in France, home to the largest Jewish population in Europe, has increased by more than 70% – from 311 in 2017 to 541 last year.
The record is not the worst that France has seen in the last two decades, and follows a two-year plunge into the attacks, reports Lucy Williamson, correspondent for the BBC Paris.
However, anti-Semitic violence is believed to be spreading from the old right-wing extremist prejudices to radical Islamists and far-left groups, our correspondent added.
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